Things only matter when people decide they matter. Accountability matters to the Irish public more than ever before. There are multiple reasons for this. Engagement begets scrutiny, and scrutiny demands accountability. A generation became politically engaged through issues and activism and not through the party politics of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, and the majority of that generation wants them out.
A simmering rage flows through contemporary public political discourse. This rage didn’t come from nowhere. It has not been artificially manufactured. It has been caused by the housing catastrophe, and the impact that has on people’s lives. This government knows it’s unpopular, but it has no idea about the temperature of that unpopularity. Fianna Fáil could have been more protected from electoral disaster than Fine Gael, but Robert Troy has summoned the ghosts of Fianna Fáil; reminding a new generation of the landlordism in Fianna Fáil, and the narratives of wheeling and dealing politicians and perception trumps reality every time.
While politicians may feel that characterisation is very unfair, they need to understand that there’s very little room for nuance in a crisis that has people’s emotions understandably frayed. Of all the controversies to get caught up in, one pertaining to housing should have had the sirens blaring for the Government. “Radioactive”, is how a friend described the issue of housing when we were talking about Troy during the week.
So what happens next? The margin for error is disappearing in Irish politics. Slip up and you might as well clear your desk at this stage. And in many ways, in the public’s eyes, it’s about time. There is a feeling that low standards have been accepted for too long, and that the jig is up.
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Varadkar and Martin
Whatever about Troy’s judgment – which we can see from his resignation statement is pretty appalling when it comes to appraising the public mood at the very least, never mind his opinion of himself – the judgment of Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin must be seriously questioned given how they backed Troy to the hilt. Everyone reading the drip-drip of news stories knew where this was going to end. And even after he resigned, Ministers still came out to bat for him. The Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien, who has been hapless in the gig, with the housing crisis worsening under his tenure, went on Newstalk on Friday morning and spoke about how Troy was “a really effective minister” and “very honest”. God almighty, make it stop.
As for those who may replace Troy, that Fianna Fáil figures Dara Calleary’s rehabilitation is complete having been forced to resign his ministerial post due to another scandal that exemplified the public’s rage about politicians not following the same rules as everyone else, stirring up even more discontent about a dominant narrative in Irish society – elites versus everyone else – is irrelevant. When Fianna Fáil hears the name Dara Calleary, they may think “great lad”, but when the public hears it, they just hear “Golfgate”. I’m not saying that’s fair. I’m not saying one scandal should overshadow a politician’s career forever. But it is true that, should Calleary get Troy’s gig, the public will roll their eyes in rage again. It will be another “ah here” moment. Another moment where many people will consider the Government is actively trolling the electorate. What is going on in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael that they cannot even pretend to read the room?
[ The fall of Troy: Anatomy of a political downfall which left Coalition exposedOpens in new window ]
‘A landlord’s game’
As for the other politician in the mix for a salary top-up, in 2007 James Lawless issued a press release criticising an episode of Prime Time that focused on the planning system, “and the disproportionate number of auctioneers and other land agents holding local office”. Lawless stated, “Rather than condemning the ancien régime, the programme might have more constructively examined why the profile of local representatives is so.” He lay the blame at the “token remuneration of local government” and said that a full-time wage should be paid, “If not, we have stepped back centuries to the point that local governance is once more a landlord’s game.” Whatever about local governance, national governance certainly is. Thirty-five per cent of TDs and Senators are landlords, compared to 3 per cent of the population. Lawless, who used his maiden Dáil speech in 2016 to talk about the housing crisis is a lessor – aka landlord – according to the register of members’ interests.
In communication terms, this Government’s fondness for scandals is not even their main issue. It’s what they do when they’re emerging that’s a real problem. It takes some doing when you’re trying to draw a line under a situation to make it even worse, which Troy did, and which those who said complimentary things – in the midst of a controversy – about him did.
The “ever thus” era of Irish politics is over, and has been for some time. This anger in Irish society will inevitably be projected, with controversies such as #TroyStory becoming proxies to unleash that rage. The public want consequences for the daily strife they’re navigating and, by the way, with resignations, they’re actually getting that short-term fix. The Dáil isn’t even in session and the Government is on the back foot. It’s those seeking accountability who have momentum.